The plot thickens regarding Mark Kirk and his girlfriend

Last week, I posted THIS ITEM about a report in the Chicago Tribune that the ex-wife of Sen. Mark Kirk, the Illinois Republican, says he may have improperly hidden campaign payments to an ex-girlfriend by paying her through a company doing campaign work.

Bills sponsored by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) have resulted in millions of dollars going to clients of his former aide and ex-girlfriend, The Chicago Tribune reports.

This story comes a few days after the Tribune reported that Kirk’s ex-wife filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission late last year, alleging that Kirk may have improperly hidden campaign payments to the same woman, Dodie McCracken.

Kirk, 52, and Kimberly Vertolli, 39, divorced in 2009 after nearly eight years of marriage. McCracken, 54, worked on Kirk’s first House race, and later served as a top aide in Washington, and Elk confirmed to the Tribune that Kirk and McCracken “were involved” after the then-Congressman’s separation from Vertolli in 2008. Kirk and McCracken lived together in Illinois and Washington, D.C., from June 2011 until January, and apparently remain friends.

According to the Tribune, “Kirk supported bills directing the Treasury Department to mint and sell collectible coins, with a surcharge for three nonprofit groups,” all of which had hired Arcadian Partners, the PR firm led by McCracken.